Press Photo/Jennifer Ackerman-HaywoodKnit business: The owner of a handmade handbag and hat business, Sierra Cole, 31, of Grand Rapids, rarely stops clicking her knitting needles, She knits just about every day to keep up with demand for the products she sells at art shows and online.

Sierra Cole might be the fastest knitter I've ever met.

Her metal needles moved with near-lightning speed as we chatted about how she landed a great gig that involves designing and knitting stylish wool hats and handbags while sporting PJs in front of the TV.

"I just get so much more work done when I just get out of bed and get going," she said.

To those of us who change into less comfortable clothes and head to work for The Man, this sounds like a dream job. But the tradeoff for Cole, 31, of Grand Rapids, is she doesn't appear to ever stop working, not even to meet the press.

As we chatted in her living room, a red hat rapidly took shape on her needles as if it was growing on its own.

Click, click. Click, click. Click, click, click.

Cole's ability to hold up her end of a conversation and knit super-fast -- without looking at her hands -- is very impressive.

"Do you ever drop a stitch?" I asked.

"Sometimes, but not very often," she said, smiling.

It's true. I think I saw her back-track only once during an hour of rapid-fire stitching.

After graduating from Michigan State University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in graphic design and printmaking, Cole traveled through Europe for a couple of months before entering the job market. When she returned home, she got a job designing advertisements for the Greenville Daily News. While the work didn't fulfill her creative aspirations, she had a nice boss -- an avid knitter who encouraged her to pick up a pair of needles and get clicking.

Cole made a couple of sweaters, then her boss showed her how to felt, a process that involves knitting an item and washing it in hot water, and agitating it enough to cause the fibers to connect in a way that makes it impossible to unravel the fabric. This process has led to the unintentional demise of many wool sweaters. But when it's intentional, the result is a fabulous effect for Cole, who uses it to make warm hats and stylishly durable handbags.

Cole, who had been selling jewelry at art fairs since high school, eventually left the newspaper to start a free bi-monthly women's magazine with a friend. After the business partnership ended, Cole decided to focus on her handmade business. About six years ago, she phased out her jewelry designs to focus on knitting hats and handbags. Her needles have been rapidly clicking ever since, as she continues to scramble to keep up her inventory.

Cole estimates she has made thousands of bags and hats since starting her business and can achieve impressive results with relative ease. But there was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning.

"The first (handbag) I made turned out like a boat," Cole recalled. "It was terrible."

Her bags retail for $48 to $186, and her hats start at $38. And, even in a tough economy, she can't seem to knit fast enough.

That's where her family comes in. Cole's mom and aunt help her with the knitting. Her mom knits bottom panels for bags, then her aunt takes over and knits the lower part.

"I do all of the design work on the top," Cole said, adding she likes to mix fibers and colors to give each bag a unique look. She often adds crocheted flower embellishments, too.

Even with support from knitters in her family, Cole knits almost every day to meet demand for her products.

She spends about $10,000 a year on yarn, which makes the volume of her knitting difficult to fathom.

While the ability to call her own shots and take a day off whenever she wants seems appealing to many recreational knitters, it's clear Cole works very hard to make a living off her fiber art.

"My sales keep going up every year, and my husband hasn't said, 'You need to get a real job,'" she said of the success she has found on the art show circuit.

During a tour of her home studio, where a spectrum of wool awaits, it was clear Cole is living the dream of many artists. She makes art every day and gets paid for her work -- an opportunity for which she is very grateful.

"It's always appreciated when someone comes and buys something from an artist," Cole said. "Especially in this kind of economy, it's important to buy things made here in the United States and made by people in our community because your dollar will go further and you're supporting someone who lives here."

After spending days stitching hats and bags, is it still possible to love the craft?